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New England

Hello, do you use the root stocks as graphs for giant pumpkin plants? Is that a needed technique to grow em really big?

1/24/2026 5:19:29 PM

Bethlehem CT

I do use them. The reason I use grafts is for the prevention of fusarium wilt disease. I grow on soil that is infested with it, so what typically would happen is the plants would grow ok for a while, then they would collapse with wilt.
If you have disease free soil then it is ok to grow them on their own roots. The biggest watermelon in the USA this year was grown on its own roots. The grafted plants have there ups and downs. They do grow faster and I believe they can uultimately produce bigger melons......the downside is that the crown (stump) will often fail just above the graft union, where it swell up and start to leak. This will stop your melon's growth in its tracks.

[Last edit: 01/25/26 9:28:16 AM]

1/25/2026 9:22:26 AM

New England

Fascinating, the further I fall into the giant growing rabbit hole the more I realize I know nothing. Ty

1/25/2026 3:06:17 PM